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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27568651">The Results of Friendship</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard'>isnt_that_wizard</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>We'll Always Be More Than A Band (JATP) [14]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Feels, Bobby Is Not A Homophobe, Bobby Loves His Friends, Bobby Was A Part Of Sunset Curve Too, Bobby centric, Fighting, Found Family, Friendship, I made Bobby a complex character, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Canon, Protective Bobby | Trevor Wilson, Rated Teen For Homophobia, Suspension, bobby gets in a fight, i do not stand for Bobby erasure or hate, i have a lot of feelings about him okay, rated for language, references to bad parenting, takes place before they died, takes place in like 94</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:42:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,548</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27568651</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bobby had never understood why he was the popular one. It was Luke who had the never ending and effortless charisma and charm. It was Reggie who could make an entire room laugh with just a single joke. It was Alex who had the kind words and smile that made everyone around him feel better about themselves. In all reason and logic, it should have been them who were popular. Yet, for whatever reason, it was Bobby who everyone in their high school seemed to want to talk to. The cheer squad would come to flirt with him in hopes of getting dates. The sports guys, who Sunset Curve had never made an effort to interact with, would invite him to come sit with them during lunch. The teachers never took him and his “rockstar attitude” down a peg the way they seemed to with Luke, Alex, and Reggie. Bobby had become effortlessly popular.<br/>-----<br/>Bobby has struggled for a long time to let people into his life. He hadn't expected three guys with instruments to be the first people he's trusted in a long time. They'd do anything for him, and he'd do anything for them right back. Even if it means getting suspended for fighting. </p><p>or</p><p>A look into Bobby's backstory and his relationship with Sunset Curve.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex &amp; Bobby | Trevor Wilson &amp; Luke Patterson &amp; Reggie, Bobby | Trevor Wilson &amp; Alex (Julie and The Phantoms)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>We'll Always Be More Than A Band (JATP) [14]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956307</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>169</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Results of Friendship</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>CW: alcoholism, homophobia, fighting, school suspension, mentions of neglectful or harmful parenting</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bobby had never understood why he was the popular one. It was Luke who had the never ending and effortless charisma and charm. It was Reggie who could make an entire room laugh with just a single joke. It was Alex who had the kind words and smile that made everyone around him feel better about themselves. In all reason and logic, it should have been them who were popular. Yet, for whatever reason, it was Bobby who everyone in their high school seemed to want to talk to. The cheer squad would come to flirt with him in hopes of getting dates. The sports guys, who Sunset Curve had never made an effort to interact with, would invite him to come sit with them during lunch. The teachers never took him and his “rockstar attitude” down a peg the way they seemed to with Luke, Alex, and Reggie. Bobby had become effortlessly popular. </p><p> </p><p>Reggie joked that everyone just wanted to know what was behind that “mysterious aura” of his. Bobby knew that it was probably true; he’d gone out on dates with some of the girls, he’d hung out with some of the guys, but none of them knew a thing about him, not really. Bobby didn’t want them to. The only people in his life he could say actually knew him were Luke, Alex, and Reggie, and that wasn’t for lack of trying to keep them out of his private life. </p><p> </p><p>When the boys had first approached him about joining Sunset Curve as their rhythm guitarist, Bobby hadn’t hesitated to say yes. Like the others, music had always been an escape for him, and even before he’d joined, Sunset Curve was already so <em> good </em> that Bobby knew playing any part in it would be something special and important. When he’d said yes, though, he’d also made a promise to himself. He made a promise to himself that these three boys- who were closer and had more history together than Bobby could possibly ever imagine- wouldn’t be allowed to pull him into their little club, and they wouldn’t ever learn anything more about him than he wanted them to. He had never let anyone get close to him, and he sure as hell wasn’t starting now. </p><p> </p><p>What Bobby hadn’t counted on, however, was how persistent these three would be. When Bobby brushed them off or did something to hide himself away from them, they always saw right through it. They never pushed him, but they found ways to silently try and support him. When one of them came into practice upset about something or sometimes even crying, they never tried to keep it between just the three of them, but instead openly allowed Bobby glimpses into their lives in a show of what he thought was <em> trust </em>. When Bobby had talked to the couple that lived a block away from him about renting the huge garage that they never used and could be a perfect new Sunset Curve studio, all three of them had smiled brightly and wrapped him in a hug so long Bobby didn’t know what to do with himself. When they went out, they never failed to invite Bobby to come with them to whatever new diner or record shop or local band performance that they’d found this week. Here they were, closer than brothers and friends for longer than any one of them could even remember, and they were welcoming Bobby in. They wanted him to feel like he was a part of them because, in their minds, he already was.</p><p> </p><p>Bobby didn’t want to be a part of their group. He didn’t want to walk into practice and be able to just tell them he was upset and have them be there, no questions asked. He didn’t want Luke throwing an arm over his shoulders as they walked through the hallways at school. He didn’t want to unlearn years and years of being on his own and how to expertly hide himself away from people just because Luke, Reggie, and Alex were the first people to try to make him feel comfortable and safe. </p><p> </p><p>But slowly, Bobby found himself opening up to them. When Reggie ranted about his parents’ latest fight, Bobby whispered a quiet, “I get it.” When Luke asked him questions- personal ones- Bobby stopped brushing them off or giving lame answers everyone knew wasn’t the truth and instead actually started telling Luke about himself. When Alex tried one more time, rolling his eyes and asking when Bobby was finally going to start sitting with them at lunch, Bobby told him he was starting today. All of the sudden, Bobby had friends. Real ones, who knew real things about him instead of just the image he painted on in front of the school. And they didn’t judge him for it all or care; they just wanted to be his friend. </p><p> </p><p>Bobby didn’t remember when exactly he’d told them about his mom. He thinks it came out bit by bit over time, but one day he realized that they knew it all. They knew how it had started, about the arguments and fear, about his dad taking him away for weekends “just to get out of the house, kid”, and they knew how it had ended. With an empty closet and missing suitcases and not even a note. </p><p> </p><p>In the easiest, most understandable terms, Bobby’s mother, Callie, was an alcoholic. As a kid, Bobby hadn’t understood that. He didn’t know what it meant when his father, Anthony, would physically pry the wine glass out of her hand when she tried to pour a third glass during dinner. Bobby had cried when his dad wouldn’t explain why mommy wasn’t tucking him in at night- because she was already passed out on the couch herself, he would later find out. Bobby had grown so accustomed to the smell of mouthwash in the house, it came to be the scent he associated with his mother the most. Anthony would shield Bobby away from his mother’s day long benders by keeping bags packed and ready to go, then taking him on short camping trips, visits to his grandparents, sightseeing in San Francisco, and whatever else Bobby wanted to do. </p><p> </p><p>It took years before Bobby started to acknowledge the facts that his grandparents would always send worried looks to his father when they showed up on their doorstep and pull him into hushed, whispering conversations. The arguments between his parents- filled with his father’s tears and his mother’s slurred words- stopped being saved for when Bobby had already fallen asleep and were now being stuck into his breakfast, and the trips to the park, and any possible moment of the day. His father cried more and more often as Bobby got older, and his mother was around less and less. </p><p> </p><p>Despite all of it, Bobby had loved his mom more than anything. When she was sober, she was everything a good mom should be. She was kind, attentive, held him close and reminded him that she loved him. Callie played games with him, bought him silly little presents, and cut the crust off his sandwiches because she knew he hated to eat it. Callie was his mom, and Bobby had loved her with everything he’d had. </p><p> </p><p>Bobby was nine when it happened. It was a Wednesday in February. Dad always came in to wake him up before school, but on that day, Bobby hadn’t woken up to Anthony’s gentle smile and morning hug. He’d woken up, instead, to his dark bedroom, alone, and the sound of sobs coming from the kitchen. He’d slipped out of bed, sleepily hobbled his way to the kitchen, where he found his father collapsed on the floor, still dressed in his pajamas and sobbing heavily into his hands. Bobby had been terrified to see his dad so distraught. He’d walked up to him, shaking his dad’s shoulder with a gentle <em> “Daddy?” </em> Anthony had startled, like he’d forgotten Bobby was even in the house, but immediately pulled him into a hug, stroking Bobby’s hair and rocking him back and forth while he cried. It had taken hours before Anthony finally told him the words that still had Bobby crying himself to sleep to this day. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Mom’s gone.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>When Bobby had told Luke, Alex, and Reggie that it had been that day that he’d made a promise to himself to never let anyone get close to him again because that way no one could hurt him- no one could <em> leave </em> him- the boys had cried. At first, Bobby had thought he’d done something wrong. He hadn’t had friends in so long, and the ones he’d had when he was a kid had never been like these three; he wasn’t sure how to act in friendships. But the boys had been crying <em> for </em>him, out of grief and empathy and love for their bandmate and best friend. Alex had been the first one to surge forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Bobby’s shoulders in a hug. At first, Bobby had gone so tense he thought he’d break; in the almost six years since his mom had left, the only person he’d ever allowed to hug him was his dad. </p><p> </p><p>Anthony was the only person besides the band who Bobby was close to. They still went a weekend trips when one of them was particularly upset, Anthony had made sure to get Bobby a therapist after Callie had left to never he heard from again, he made an effort everyday- even when Bobby was in a stereotypical teenage mood that made him want nothing to do with his father- to remind Bobby that he loved him and he was never going anywhere. </p><p> </p><p>When Luke and Reggie had moved to hug him shortly after Alex had pulled him in, wrapping Bobby between the three of them, Bobby had cried. It was the first time in a long time that Bobby had ever felt a feeling of real, complete <em> family. </em>He loved his dad and wouldn’t trade their relationship for anything, but there had always been something that felt like Bobby was missing. The band, the boys, were fixing that, he thought. Being a part of something, having people who knew him in and out and didn’t care that he was the kid whose mom didn’t love him enough to stick around, leaving without so much as a note to say goodbye because alcohol was more important than they were, made Bobby feel different than he had in years and years. </p><p> </p><p>Happy, he thinks the term was. </p><p> </p><p>His friends and his music made him <em> happy.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Still, Bobby didn’t let other people get close to him or know the truth. To the school, he was still this weird man of mystery. Apparently, being difficult and evasive just made people want to get to know him more and more. He still had a public image of smooth charm and he knew he was the flirt of the band, shooting off smirks to the girls that had them giggling and sharing jokes or fist bumps with some of the guys, but no one got close enough to see past it all. During the school days, he stuck with the band as much as he could. Bobby didn’t have to act fake with them. He could just joke around, and smile with truth behind it, and enjoy his time. </p><p> </p><p>----------</p><p> </p><p>When Bobby walked into practice and was immediately met with smiles and the happy energy of his bandmates, he elected to just, you know, not tell them. What they didn’t know, and all. If he did tell them, it would bring down the mood, make them all worried about him, put that sad, confused, guilty look on Alex’s face. . . It was better to just keep it to himself. It’s not like he did it for recognition or anything anyway. So they went through practice like always, and Bobby didn’t say anything about why he was a little bit later than he usually was, and he didn’t explain that the reason he messed up a couple times throughout the songs was because his hand <em> hurt </em> and moving it too much wasn’t a great feeling. </p><p> </p><p>Bobby should have known he couldn’t get away with it. He never could with these three. </p><p> </p><p>The saddest part is he’d almost made it. He’d almost gotten through the whole evening without having to tell the three of them how his last class of the school day had gone. But then, as Reggie was packing up his bass as they all made to leave, he turned to Bobby with a question. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, man, do you want to meet up during study hall tomorrow to work on that stupid paper? Mine’s almost done and I know you said you were struggling with it.”</p><p> </p><p>What everyone outside of Sunset Curve wasn’t aware of was that Reggie was actually the best student out of the four of them. Alex had the best grades- he had to or his parents would tear him a new one- but Reggie was the one with all the brains. He just didn’t like doing the actual work. </p><p> </p><p>At Reggie’s question, Bobby quickly ducked his head to hide the sudden heat he felt filling his face, acting like he was suddenly very interested in his guitar’s tuning pegs. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, um. Sorry, dude. Can’t.”</p><p> </p><p>Reggie frowned a little, looking disappointed. The two of them met up a lot during their study halls. Though it was the same hour, they unfortunately did not have the same supervising teacher, and Reggie’s didn’t seem to like him one bit. Reggie would escape by joining Bobby’s instead, and they would work out some new notes for a song or actually bother to do their homework for once. </p><p> </p><p>“During lunch?” Reggie asked, and really, it was sweet of him. Bobby had mentioned being beaten into the ground with this essay they were supposed to be writing, and Reggie had been helping him through it. </p><p> </p><p>Bobby just shook his head in response. </p><p> </p><p>“You okay, Bobby?” Luke, their ever concerned leader, asked him with a tilt of his head. </p><p> </p><p>Bobby just shrugged, and hated himself for doing it. These were the types of short, not quite real answers he gave everyone <em> but </em>the band. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine- just. Not gonna be in school the next couple of days.” </p><p> </p><p>He didn’t make eye contact with any of them. He probably shouldn’t have even said that at all, because now they were all watching him with those critical, concerned frowns he’d been wanting to <em> avoid </em>. Really, though, it would be kind of hard for him to hide the fact that he wasn’t in school for the next three days, so maybe none of this was well thought out. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Luke replied. “You and your dad going on a trip?”</p><p> </p><p>Bobby shook his head. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you sick?” Alex asked casually, jokingly grimacing and backing away from Bobby like he’d catch something. Bobby couldn’t help the small smile at that, rolling his eyes at the drummer. </p><p> </p><p>“No, I’m fine.” </p><p> </p><p>“So you’re just. . . skipping?” Reggie asked, confused as Luke and Alex clearly were. Bobby sighed. Really, he should have thought this through a little more. </p><p> </p><p>“I got suspended, okay?” he threw at them, sounding harsher than he meant it and still not looking directly at any of them. </p><p> </p><p>Alex, Luke, and Reggie’s looks of confusion transformed so quickly into shock, their mouths hanging open, that it was almost funny. Bobby knew why; he was never the one in trouble. He was usually the one talking the teachers out of giving the other three detention or write ups. And if he was the one in trouble, it had never amounted to anything more than a few quick reprimands. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re <em> what?” </em> Alex squawked out. Bobby took a deep breath. Alex was the one he wanted to tell this story to least of all. </p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean suspended?” Reggie added in. </p><p> </p><p>All three of them had abandoned the clean up of their instruments, standing in different spots in the room to stare at him. To have them like that, surrounding him, made Bobby feel almost claustrophobic in the large garage. </p><p> </p><p>“I <em> mean </em>,” Bobby said with a sigh, moving out of the middle of them and sitting on the couch, “that I got called into the office after school today and they told me I’m suspended for the next three school days.”</p><p> </p><p>Luke moved towards him, plopping down hard in one of the old lawn chairs they kept around, sitting on the edge of the seat to stare at Bobby. “Why the hell are you suspended, Bobby?”</p><p> </p><p>His last class of the day was the only one in which he didn’t have one of his bandmates. It was his least favorite. Instead of having one of the guys to trade exasperated looks with, throw balled up pieces of paper at in hopes they stuck in the other’s hair, or completely not pay any attention at all, he was just with almost half the boy’s basketball team, a couple of girls he couldn’t name if he tried, and a bunch of other unfamiliar faces. There were one or two people he was at least friendly with and didn’t mind having to hold a conversation with, but otherwise it was just one of those classes where his only thought was the time on the clock. He never had a problem in just getting through until the clock ran out, usually. </p><p> </p><p>“I may or may not have, you know, punched Aidan in the face.” </p><p> </p><p>The end of the sentence came out quick and jumbled, but he knew they had caught it anyway. </p><p> </p><p>“Aidan?” Alex exclaimed. “Aidan Turner? You punched <em> Aidan Turner </em> in the face? Aidan “Captain of the Basketball Team” Turner? That one? You punched him?”</p><p> </p><p>Bobby sighed, glancing at Alex. “Can you please stop repeating his name? Or the next person I punch is gonna be you.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex paid no heed to his threat, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. “What the hell are you doing punching Aidan Turner?”</p><p> </p><p>His voice had grown louder with every utterance of Aidan’s name, and Bobby released a loud sigh. Reggie was just watching him, looking both surprised and a little impressed. Bobby shot him a small smile, turning away from Alex’s glare to look at Luke. Luke was contemplative as he looked Bobby over, his eyes stopping for the first time this afternoon on Bobby’s hand, where a bruise had started blooming over his knuckles. Aidan Turner, as it turned out, had a harder jaw than Bobby was expecting. At least Aidan’s face looked worse than Bobby’s hand did. </p><p> </p><p>“Bobby, what happened?” Luke asked. “I mean, dude, your dad is gonna flip when he finds out you got in a fight- and <em> suspended! </em> And you’ll regret it later if-”</p><p> </p><p>“The only thing I’m gonna regret is that I only got to punch him once before Ms. Richards broke us up,” Bobby shot out quickly, harshly. The sour anger he’d been feeling when he’d thrown that punch was nowhere near dissipated yet. </p><p> </p><p>Luke looked surprised at the anger seeped into Bobby’s voice, sitting back a little. Bobby looked down, keeping his gaze away from the three of them again. He didn’t want to throw his residual anger out on them. Especially Alex. </p><p> </p><p>“Listen, it was the end of the day, I was fed up. Aidan was saying some shit, and I. . . I just punched him, okay? End of story.”</p><p> </p><p>Obviously, it wasn’t the end of the story, and his bandmates weren’t anywhere near letting it go. Bobby could only hope. </p><p> </p><p>“Bobby, half the kids in our grade are assholes, and you’ve never punched someone for saying shit you didn’t like before,” Reggie helpfully pointed out. Bobby just gave him a look. </p><p> </p><p>“What did he say?” Alex’s voice came from out of his peripheral, always one to ask the useful questions. Not so useful in Bobby’s case this time. Bobby glanced at the drummer, then let his gaze immediately drop. He didn’t want to have to tell him, any of them. He could already picture the looks on their faces, knew that Luke and Reggie would fill with as much anger as he felt while Alex just shrunk back in on himself. </p><p> </p><p>“What did he say?” Luke repeated. Once again, Bobby couldn’t help the way his eyes immediately went to Alex. He didn’t drop his gaze this time, though. He met Alex’s worried, frustrated gaze and couldn’t look away. </p><p> </p><p>As much as Bobby had let them into his life, they had let him into theirs. He knew about how much Reggie hated his parents fighting and would sneak out of his window to go sit on the beach when they got loud. He knew that Luke’s mom had been getting on his case more and more lately about the band, and in turn Luke was overworking himself to the point of exhaustion to try and prove himself to her. He knew that coming out to the three of them was what Alex considered the hardest thing he’d ever done, and how it had taken twenty minutes of calming him from a panic attack before the drummer actually got the words out. Bobby also knew that Alex had decided to tell his parents, which had resulted in yelling so loud that the neighbors had overheard. One of those neighbors was a senior at their school- because of course she was- and had started whispered rumors around the school. Alex had been in a state of constant panic for almost two weeks, and Bobby, Luke, and Reggie had all mutually agreed that one of them would always be at his side, even if it meant skipping class. Bobby was practically desperate to not put Alex in that state of panic again. </p><p> </p><p>But he also knew that his bandmates weren’t going to leave until they got an answer out of him. Bobby’s eyes were still locked on Alex. </p><p> </p><p>“Please don’t make me say it,” he whispered, just loud enough that the other three were able to catch it. </p><p> </p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, he could see how tense Luke and Reggie had become, but he kept his eyes on Alex. He could pinpoint the moment it hit the drummer, and Alex’s shoulders slumped a little bit, his jaw tightening, and his gaze immediately drawn to the floor. Bobby watched him take a deep, shaky looking breath before he looked back up, meeting Bobby’s eyes once more. </p><p> </p><p>Alex looked upset, sad, and <em> resigned </em>, which hurt Bobby more than anything. He hated that Alex was used to this, that he wasn’t even surprised. </p><p> </p><p>“He was talking about me?” Alex’s low tone matched Bobby’s earlier volume. Bobby wasn’t sure he would be able to get out words if he tried, so instead he just nodded. The drummer nodded minisculely in return, not saying anything more as he shuffled his feet against the hard ground of the studio and stuffed his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. </p><p> </p><p>The silence that fell over the four of them could’ve lasted for minutes, or it could’ve been hours. Luke and Reggie were fuming, trading looks that screamed they wanted to go find wherever Aidan Turner was now and give him a few punches of their own. Bobby stayed on the couch, clenching and unclenching his injured fist and watching how the bruises changed color as he did so. It was Alex, after however long it had been, who broke the silence. </p><p> </p><p>“You shouldn’t have done that, Bobby,” he said, his voice sounding uncharacteristically void of emotion. </p><p> </p><p>There was the guilt. </p><p> </p><p>Bobby knew Alex would do this. He would blame himself for Bobby getting in trouble, then make some self deprecating comment about how the boys needed to stop putting themselves in positions to protect him because he could “handle it on his own”. </p><p> </p><p>“I would do it again, Alex,” Bobby stated, finality in his voice as he looked at the drummer. Alex sighed, shaking his head. </p><p> </p><p>“Alex, don’t start, okay? I don’t care that I got suspended, I don’t care that you’re mad at me about it, and I don’t care that you think you can handle this shit alone. You don’t <em> have </em> to. You shouldn’t have to deal with some assholes being homophobic at all, but you do, and we’re not gonna let you do it alone. So yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have punched him, maybe it wasn’t smart- but the stuff he was saying about you. . . He’s lucky one punch was all he got.”</p><p> </p><p>Alex’s eyes searched his face for a moment or two, and then he just nodded. Bobby took it as a signal that it was the end of the conversation. Alex didn’t agree with Bobby, Bobby didn’t agree with Alex, and they weren’t going to get any farther just firing back and forth at each other about it. Bobby gave a single nod back, then stood up from the couch. Luke and Reggie had stayed silent during Bobby’s little speech, still angry and now turning their concern on Alex. If Bobby couldn’t get through to him, maybe the other two would. Bobby finished putting his guitar in its case silently, moving to sling it over his shoulder for the short walk home. </p><p> </p><p>“Reggie,” Bobby said once he’d gotten to the door. The bassist turned to him, question in his eyes. “Meet me after school tomorrow? For that essay?” </p><p> </p><p>If he was suspended, his dad would be even more certain that Bobby was getting all of his work done. Reggie gave him a smile, nodding in agreement. Bobby smiled back, then left the studio. He’d only made it to the end of the driveway when he heard someone behind him. </p><p> </p><p>“Bobby, wait!”</p><p> </p><p>He turned to Alex, who was jogging up to him. Before he could ask what he wanted, Alex had his arms around Bobby’s shoulders, careful for his guitar as he hugged him. Bobby hesitantly lifted his own arms up, returning the embrace. </p><p> </p><p>“I still think you shouldn’t have done that,” Alex mumbled, “but thank you.” </p><p> </p><p>Bobby smiled where his face had ended up slightly squashed into Alex’s shoulder. He didn’t give a reply; Alex didn’t want or need one. Bobby just squeezed Alex a little tighter, giving him a few pats on the back before pulling away. </p><p> </p><p>“See you later, Alex.”</p><p> </p><p>The more Bobby thought about it, the less he regretted allowing himself to get close to Luke, Alex, and Reggie, and the less he regretted letting them get close to him. He wasn’t going to suddenly start letting people in or telling them his whole depressing backstory; he didn’t need that, and he certainly didn’t want that. His trust in people only ran so far. Sunset Curve seemed to be the exceptions. In the entire time they’d known each other, Bobby realized that he didn’t worry about them leaving or judging him. They were just. . . there for him. Bobby still wasn’t sure how to handle that feeling of trust and <em> family </em> that he hadn’t felt in so long, but he knew it wasn’t a bad thing. The boys had his back. </p><p> </p><p>Be damned if he wasn’t going to have theirs, too. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT BOBBY OKAY</p><p>Listen Trevor may be an asshole but I will stand by Bobby and the fact that he was, you know, a MEMBER OF THE BAND until the day I die. I love him and I will literally fight anyone who disagrees, thanks &lt;3</p><p>This idea came from a comment exchange with PJO_Connoisseur !! Go check them out- their fics are incredible and they wrote their own version of "Bobby Punches Homophobes" called I've Got Your Back . It's AMAZING and you should all go read it. Right now. </p><p>special thanks to my love zendrella for reading this over for me &lt;3</p><p>Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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